Editing Webster's Dictionary (section)

==={{anchor|W2NID}}<!--There are several redirects to here --> ''Webster's New International Dictionary'' (second edition, 1934) ===
{{Redirect|Webster's Second|Daniel Webster's "Second Reply to Hayne"|Webster–Hayne debate}}

In 1934, the ''New International Dictionary'' was revised and expanded for a second edition, which is popularly known as ''Webster's Second'' or ''W2'', although it was not published under that title. It was edited by [[William Allan Neilson]] and [[Thomas A. Knott]]. It contained 3,350 pages and sold for $39.50 (adjusted for inflation: $755.77). Some versions added a 400-page supplement called ''A Reference History of the World'', which provided [[Chronology|chronologies]] "from earliest times to the present". The editors claimed more than 600,000 entries, more than any other dictionary at that time, but that number included many proper names and newly added lists of undefined "[[combination word]]s". Multiple definitions of words are listed in chronological order, with the oldest, and often obsolete, usages listed first. For example, the first definition of ''starve'' includes dying of exposure to the elements as well as from lack of food.

The numerous picture plates added to the book's appeal and usefulness, particularly when pertaining to things found in nature. Conversely, the plate showing the coins of the world's important nations quickly proved to be ephemeral. Numerous gold coins from various important countries were included, including American eagles, at a time when it had recently become illegal for Americans to own them, and when most other countries had withdrawn gold from active circulation as well.

Early printings of this dictionary contained the erroneous [[ghost word]] ''[[dord]]''.

Because of its style and word coverage, ''Webster's Second'' is still a popular dictionary. For example, in the case of ''Miller Brewing Co. v. G. Heileman Brewing Co., Inc''., 561 F.2d 75 (7th Cir. 1977)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/561/561.F2d.75.77-1246.html|title=United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725161217/https://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/561/561.F2d.75.77-1246.html |access-date=September 13, 2010|archive-date=July 25, 2010 }}</ref> – a trademark dispute in which the terms "lite" and "light" were held to be generic for light beer and therefore available for use by anyone – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, after considering a definition from ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'', wrote that "[T]he comparable definition in the previous, and for many the classic, edition of the same dictionary is as follows:..."